Big Mo's Blog

Obama, Biden Sworn In For Second Term

by Big Mo,posted Jan 20 2013 3:35PM

The Associated Press

President Barack Obama is officially sworn-in by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Blue Room of the White House during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington on Sunday. Next to Obama are first lady Michelle Obama, holding the Robinson Family Bible, and daughters Malia and Sasha.

Josh Haner/New York Times via AP

"All right, thank you everybody," the President then said to a handful of family members, before hugging and kissing his wife and his daughters.

"Good job, dad," Sasha could be heard saying.

"I did it!" Obama replied, before the family filed out of the room.

The swearing-in went off without a hitch, unlike at Obama's first inauguration in 2009, when Roberts flubbed part of the oath, leading the White House to hold a second private swearing-in later that day to ward off any potential legal questions about the legitimacy of Obama's presidency.

Pool/Getty Images

Obama recited the oath on Sunday in accordance with the Constitution, which dictates that a President's term ends at noon on Jan. 20.

Because Jan. 20 fell on a Sunday this year, the official inauguration celebration was moved to Monday. And so Obama will take the oath again Monday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - in a midday ceremony in front of the U.S. Capitol before VIPs, hundreds of thousands of spectators on the National Mall and a worldwide television audience. He also will deliver an inaugural address.

While not fully open to the public or media, Sunday's ceremony was attended by a pool reporter and a television crew that transmitted it for live broadcast. It took only one minute, concluding at 11:57 a.m.

Dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and bright blue tie, Obama looked relaxed, while Roberts conspicuously read the 35-word oath from a sheet of paper held in his left hand. Obama took the oath with his left hand on a bible that has been in the First Lady's family since Mother's Day, 1958.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Plumbing Supervisor Ken Feaga of Architect of the Capitol helps to line-up chairs for the presidential inauguration at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.

Vice President Joe Biden took the official oath for his own second term shortly before 8:30 a.m. at his residence on the grounds of Washington's Naval Observatory.

Between the two swearing-ins, the President and Vice President met at Arlington National Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknowns, and attended a payer service at honoring King at the 175-year-old Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, which in the past hosted pre-inaugural prayer services for former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.

The Presidential Oath reads: ""I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Obama, like most presidents, said "swear."

Obama added "So help me God" at the end of his oath, as most commanders-in-chief also do.